Tractor structure



Oct. .18, 1932v l A. RoNNlNG ET AL 1,883,405

TRACTOR STRUCTURE Original Filed Oct. 29,' 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l `ATTORNEY Oct. 18, 1932. I A. RoNNlNG E'r AL v 1,883,405

TRACTOR STRUCTURE Original Filed Oct. 29, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fly. 4.

INVENTORS Nona/1N G. Hoym/v5 BY OULPI/ ROMAN/vs ATTORNEY k,

Patented Oct. 1s, v1932` UNITEo-f sfrirriagsmrizlrr'formesv `AnoLrIr RONNING, or MINNEAPOL'IsMINNESOTA,.AND ANDREA-N o. RONNINQ'DE- cEASED, LATE OE MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, EYADOLPHEONN'ING, OEMINNEAP- OLIS, MINNEsoTA,:ANn JACOB A. NONNING, `or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, EXECU- TORS, ASSIGNORS, AEY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTsTO ADOLPH NONNING, AND ADOLEH RONNING AND JACOB A. RONNING, TRUSTEEsOE. .THE ESTnTE OEANDEEANJG.

EONNING, DECEASED, ,ALLY OE MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA,

' "1 TEAOTOESTNUOTUEE 'Original application iiled October 2219245, Serial vI o. 65,700; Divided' and this application led Decenibcr This invention relates to implement attachments'for tractors,fand the main object is to provide means O a. novel, efficient,and Y practical nature 7for Converting a standard or well known AVtype or tractor into. acombination machine, vwherein :the usual forecar- `riage of. the tractor /is- ,substituted for a wheeled,y implement bearing frame, thus producinga machine 'in which a single operator may have full and easy access to'bothithe Vtractor controls and the implementjadjusting' mechanisms. Machines of this general character, carrylng nnplements such as lows,

grader blades, cultivatorsand the li te v'are f 'now well known in ythe art,v andaregillus- Y vtrated in the (5o-pending Ronning and Ronning application, Ser.` Not 451,746, filed March 12, y1921, for` traction implement, now

Patent No. 1,706,256 and in various divi--4 sions of'said application, one of which divisions has sincefmatured intodPatentNo.

1,658,354, issued February`7, 1928. In. all of said disclosures, aswell asin similarstructures disclosed by others inthe art, prior l to the present invention, -t` hasbeencustomary to attach'a yoke of theimplement frame to the lugs, at the front of the tractor, to

whichlugs the frontaXlewas attached, 'prior to the conversion of the tractor to a tractionimplement. As a 'result it was necessary to 'jack or block up the front end'of the'tractor while the `front wheels and aXle were being removed and until after theimplement frame was securely fastened, which operation required the expenditure of a considerable amount of labor and time. yIn the present instance,however, the implement frame is so designed that it can be `applied and secured to the tractor while the usual tractor forecarriage is still in place, and consequently it becomesa simplezmatter to convertithe i tractor because the wheels can be removed Aafter the frame is attachedand,conversely,

it is an equally simple `Operation to reconvert the tractor to its normalcondition, asits unusual steering wheels'can be quickly replaced before the implement frameisdet'ached.

in theicourse of the following specification, reference being` had to the accompanyingV drawings, forming a part thereof. Y 'It may here benoted that the present application isa division of a co-pending application Se'LNO". 65,700, filed October 29, 1925, for tractor cultivator. f t Referring to the drawings: y Fig. lis aleft side elevationV of the machine, the nearV rea-r wheel being removed for purposeof illustration. l

.F ig. .2 is a sectional elevationvon the line '2-2 in Fig.,V 1..

Fig-.31's a-sec'tional elevation similar yto Fig. '2, but with the tractor unitv omitted.

- .Fig 4 is a .plan view of themachine as seen fin Figrl.. v .e

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, A designates the body casting or main frame of a common .andfwell known `type 'of tractor having -rear axle and differential housings'. B, Vrear drive -wheels C, a drivers-support D, fuel vtank E,Vandradia' tor'rF.V A hand wheel G operates through a worm'H and gearsegment I to Oscillate a crank J whichis normally'connected with and arranged to operatethe steering 'carriage which `is tiltably connected to a forked couplingbracket K to support the frontv end of the tractor when the same is used as a traction unit only. In converting the tractor into ar tractor-implement` the usual Steering carriage and its connections with the crank J are dispensed with and removed. This converting feature is fully disclosed and 4more broadly covered and described in aforesaid PatentfNo. 1,658,354. f l

The front end of the tractor, from which the normal steering carriage has vbeen removed, -is nowsupported, as in the above mentioned applications, byV Vbeing suspended from land connected to a'supplemental frame `Other objects will appear and be discussed v or substituted forecarriage, which, in the present instance comprises a pair of side bars 9 and 10, the rear ends of which are rigidly secured, as by U-bolt clamps 11, to the rear axle housings B. The bars Vconvergey the side to which the steering is directed,

i. e., the frame willswing as far as the center 15 will swing from the spot on which the wheel13 rests upon the ground. This swinging or'shifting of the frame is very important, especially where ground working tools such as lcultivators are carried by the frame, as it affords a very convenient and sensitive means for quickly shifting ythe tools transver'sely, without waiting for lthe angled wheel to move the frame sidewise as the machine moves forward through the field.

The wheel 13 is steered from the rear of he machine by means of a rod 16, which is connected at its front end to a rack member 17, which meshes with a pinion 18 on the fork 14. The rear end of the rod V16 is pivotally and adjustably connected to the short or lower arm 19 of a bent lever 19.20, carried on the crank J. The arm 20, in turn, is connected by a link rod 21 to a lever bar 22, which is pivoted, as at 23, to a transverse beam 24 secured upon the rear ends of the side bars 9 and v10. Slotted castings" 25, at the ends of the beam 24, permit a restricted oscillating movement of the lever 22 on its pivot 23. The ends of the lever 22 are se- Vcured to the free ends of a pair of externally acting brake bands 26 and 27, the other ends of which are adjustably secured to the'castings 25, as at 28 and 29; These bands 26 and 27 are arranged to frictionally engage drums 30 and 31, to stop or retard either of the wheels C, but can only act on one drum ata time due to the factthat the lever 22 is pivoted between its ends.

Journalled in bearings 32 on the beams 9--10 is a transverse shaft 33, upon the left side of which is non-rotatably secured a lever 34 having a pedalV 35, said lever being connected by a link 36 to the crank J. Theright end of the shaft 33 is providedwith a pinion 37, which meshes withthe gear segment 38 of a right foot lever 39 having a pedal 40, the effect of this gearing being to alternate or reverseV the vmovements of the levers 34 and 39, and the object of the pedal arrangementis to enable the operator to use either his hands or his rfeet (or both if necessary) to steer the machine and guide the tools. The steering operation may be brieiy described as follows:y

If the machine is to be angled from its normal forward direction,for instance to the left, the operator may either turn the hand wheel G tothe left or may press the pedal 35 with his foot, either action resulting in a forward movement of the crank J. The bent lever 19-20 now acts as an equalizer between the bars 16 and 21,.but, with the fulcrum (J) of the lever moving forwardly it will be seen that thebar 16 will move forwardly, and by virtuev of the gearing 17-18 will angle the wheel 13'to the left, and at the same time, by pulling on the rod 21, will tighten the-,brakeband 27, thus braking the leftwheel C. As thetwo'wheels C are driven through the customary differential mechanism the right wheel will be speeded up, causing thetractor to swing more sharply to the left behind the guiding wheel 13, and permitting the entire machine to pivot, if necessary,

on the left wheel C. To return the'machine to its forward direction itis only necessary to release the hand wheel G or pedal35, upon which the `wheel' 13 will. automatically return to its trailing 'or straight position behind the pivot center 15. To turn the machine to the right the operator either swings 'the .wheel Gor depresses the pedal 40. This turns the Vshaft 33 and pulls the crank J rearwardly, thus reversing the above described action on the rods 16 and 21, and angles the wheel 13 to the right while braking the right i wheel C.

In each ofthe co-pending applications resulting in Patents No. 1,706,256 andNo. 1,658,- 354, the front end of the tractor was suspended from the frame bars by providing an underslung yoke, the ends of which were secured -to Vthe barsr while the intermediate or lower central portion had a flange which was secured in the coupling bracket (as K) by a pin Vor bolt. Such a construction, although very simple and practical, necessitated the use of a jack or other means for supporting the yfront end of the tractor while the front axle was being removed and the yoke applied.

In the present instance means are provided whereby the tractor may be secured, with respect to the frame, while still supported on the usual forecarriage, and such means may Vbebriefiy described as follows:

A pair of brackets or castings41 and 42 are secured, respectively, to the frame beams 9 and 10. These castings are preferably shaped so as to conform with the shape of the lower side portions of the front end of the tractor, so as to snugly receive the same, and are connected by bolts 43, which pass under or through the tractor, so as to tie the brackets rigidly'together. It may be noted that the two, lower bolts 43 pass in front and behind of the coupling members K, and by so doing may besecuredwhile the front axle `(not shown) is'still in place, and, conversely, when the frame is to be removed the normal steering carriage or front axle may be firstk applied, after'which the bolts iS-and the entire framework may be readily removed.

It may be here noted that when the frame and usual fore-carriage are to be substituted,

one for the other, it may be found that they front end of the tractor maybe al little too high or too 'low to properly receive the brackets 5l-42, or it may be too low to readily permit the removal of the fore-carriage after the frame has been attached.` In this event the necessary attaching and removing operations may be easily effect-ed bypmerely` running the tractor over an uneven surface until its front support, i. e., either the caster 13 or the usualV forecarriage, is raised or lowered to the degree required.

To show a practical application ofthe various devices herein set-forthk and claimed Figs. l and 4 illustrate how gangsof cuitivator tools 44 may be yattached to and adjustably carried by the supplemental frame. This mechanism, however, is purely illustra tive, and will not be described in detail, espe- Y cially so as such mechanism and its association with the tractor features forms thev subject matter of application SenNo. 65,700,0f which this is a division.V

It is understood that suitable modifications of the structure herein set forth may 'be made if within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 4Having now therefore fully illustrated and described the inventionr` what is claimed to be new is :e-

What is claimed is:

l. An attachment for a tractor comprising a wheel supported frame adapted to be substituted for the normal steering wheel axle of the tractor so as to support the frontend of the tractor withsaid axle removed, and

said frame having support devices with means for attaching such devices to the front end of the tractor at points spaced from ther point of attachment of said axle, before being removed, so that said devices may be secured to the tractor before said steering wheel axle has been removed. 'v

2. An attachment for a tractor comprising a wheel supported frame adapted to'be substituted for the `normal fore-carriage of the tractor so as to support the front end of the tractor with said forecarriage removed, and means adapted to connect said front end Vof the tractor to the frame before said forecarriage has been removed, said `means comprising a pair of bracket members-carried by theA frame and means for securing said bracket members to the front end of the tractor.

3. An attachment adaptedl to be applied to a tractor, comprising a frame adapted to support the front end of the tractor as a substitute `for1the-,normal steering wheels and.' front axle-,ofthe tractor, said `frame having side bars secured-fat .their rearfends to the `rear end offtheftraeter,l steering means supp'ortf ing the front en'd'of the frame, Aa. devicev extendingrfrom intermediate portions of theV sidebars for/attachment tothe front of the tractor at a pointspaced from the point of .attachment by the said front axle vwhereby to support the tractor when saidnormal steering wheels and front axle are removed, and means for so attaching said connecting means tothe fore end `of the tractorwhereby said frame may be secured in positionto the tractor while the front end of the tractor is stillk supported by the normal steering wheels and front axle.

4. An attachment for a power unit of a tractor comprising side bars extending along the sides of theunit and attached at their rear ends thereto, a wheeled support for the front end of the frame, a pair of depending bracket members rigidly secured to the side bars adjacent the front end of the power unit,

and means forrigidly securing said bracket. members to the sides of the power yunit to support the same in the frame.

-5.` An attachment for a power unit ofl a rear ends thereto, a wheeled support for the front end of the frame, a pair of depending vbracket members rigidly securedV to the side bars adjacent the front end of the power unit,

anda series of tie bolts connecting the bracket members and serving to clamp them against opposite sides of the power unit.

7. The combination with a tractor power unit having a coupling bracket at'its forward Y end. designed to receive the normal axle of a forecarriage, of a frame having side bars secured at their rear ends to the power unit and extendingwith their vfront ends in advance of the tractor, a wheeled support for the front end of the frame,and means extending from` theframe for attachment to the power unit ata point removed from the coupling'bracket, whereby the power unit may be supported from the frame while the said ynormal axle is being. removed from or applied to the coupling bracket.

8. A frame attachment for a tractor comprising side bars extending along the sides of the tractor at their rear ends to the rearaxle housing of the tractor, asupport for the frontend of the frame, spacedbracket memH bers secured to the side bars, and Vmeans'for securing the lbracketmembers against opposite sides of thev frontend of the tractor. Y

Signed at Minneapolis, Minnesota, this 17th day of December, 1928.

o VADOLPH RONNING. ADOLPH RONNING, JACOB A. RONNING,

As J oz'nt E meewtors of the Estate 0f Andreotti,

G. Benning, Deceased. 

